Housing Operations and Maintenance During COVID-19

Our Commitment to Our Community

Our first priority is protecting the safety and well-being of our residents and our staff. In response to state and local health departments’ orders to implement emergency measures to decrease the rapid spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), the Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA) is sharing the following updates.BCHA’s workfalls under the“essential services”category of the State of Colorado’s Safer at Home phase of COVID-19 response.

While we will continue to work remotely to provide necessary services, all of our client–facing offices will be closed to the public through May 31 and business will be conducted via phone or email. Please contact your Housing Choice Voucher caseworker, property manager, or maintenance dispatch by phone or emailfor assistance.

Also, please remember that -for the protection of both you and our employees- when our maintenance, resident services, or property management staff contact you, they will go through a series of preventive measures, including asking the following questions:

if you or someone in your home is or has been sick in the past two weeks

whether anyone in your home has traveled internationally

if anyone in the household is high-risk (over age 65 or with a chronic medical condition)

if anyone in the home has been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Colorado Safer at Home Phase of COVID-19 Response

Boulder County has transitioned to the State of Colorado’s Safer at Home phase of COVID-19 response. Coloradans are no longer ordered to stay home but are strongly advised to do so. Critical businesses are open and non-critical businesses are operating with restrictions. In addition, Boulder County requires face coverings to be worn by anyone over the age of 12 when in public anywhere and physical distancing (at least six feet distance between yourself and others not in your household) is not possible. There are some exceptions. See the link for details.

The purpose of this guidance is to decrease contact among people who do not share a household. This can slow the spread of the virus and allow time to scale up testing and disease investigation which will help save lives in the long-term.

See the letter to BCHA residents about the transition to the Safer at Home phase of COVID-19 response:

Some key points of the Safer at Home phase of COVID-19 response:

No gatherings of large groups. All public or private gatherings of 10 or more people other than critical business or government functions are prohibited. Gatherings of fewer than 10 people must adhere to physical distancing (six feet or more distance between yourself and others).

Stay at home as much as possible.Boulder County residents should stay at their place of residence unless they need to leave for essential or necessary activities, essential government functions, or to operate essential businesses. Essential activities include but aren’t limited to:

Performing health and safety activities

Obtaining necessary services or supplies

Engaging in outdoor exercise activity alone or in groups of 4 or fewer people, with proper physical distancing protocol.

Performing work providing essential products and services at an Essential Business

Caring for a family member or pet in another household

Relocating a household from one residence to another

Face coverings are required whenever in public and physical distancing is not possible (for those 12 and older).

Social Distancing is urged. If you are using shared or outdoor spaces, please practice physical distancing, keeping at least six feet of distance between yourself and others.

If you need to request a change to your rent portion based on your income, please contact your caseworker for more information or use this formto submit the requested change.

At this time, you are still responsible to pay your portion of the rent by the due date specified in your lease. If you are having trouble paying your rent, please contact your landlord and your caseworkerimmediately.

We are no longer conducting in–person recertification appointments. These appointments may be conducted over the phone by request.

You may submit your recertification or any other paperwork in the following ways:

Fax to 720-564-2283 (please include the name of your caseworker on the fax).

Use exterior drop boxes located outside our office building at 3460 Broadway in Boulder, and on the Terry Street side of our office building at 515 Coffman Street in Longmont. Drop boxes are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Stimulus funds: please note that if you receive a stimulus check as a result of COVID, you do not need to report this as income, and it will not affect your rent portion.
Contact information for BCHA’s Housing Choice Voucher Team

Please continue to send your rent payments to the lock box if you are not currently set up forautomatic withdrawal. If you are set up for automatic withdrawal, your rent will be withdrawn on the 7th of the month. The Boulder County Issuance Offices are currently closed and you will not be able to drop off rent or overdue fees.

Mailing Addresses for rent payments/lock boxes:

BCHA:PO Box 911723, Denver, CO 80291-1723

BCHA includes all properties in Longmont, Niwot, Gunbarrel, Lyons, Nederland, Josephine Commons, scattered properties in Lafayette and all Louisville properties with the exception of Kestrel.

Kestrel: Kestrel, LLC, PO Box 913055, Denver, CO 80291-3055

Aspinwall: Aspinwall, LLC, PO Box 912770, Denver, CO 80291-2770

Now, more than ever, it is essential that we remain good neighbors. Please continue to follow the terms in your lease and adhere to all policies, including but not limited to smoking only in designated areas and picking up your dog waste. Maintenance and Property Management staff will continue to make frequent visits to the property to assist with lease enforcement and to inspect the property and safety systems.

Follow the State of Colorado’s Safer at Home guidance

Use of common areas must be in compliance with the Safer at Home guidance and is at your own risk. Although we are following all precautionary measures to clean common areas, we cannot guarantee your health and safety. Please follow all public health guidelines and your own good judgment when out in public areas.

You may notice that some areas have been closed off. This is a precautionary measure to ensurestaff can continue to clean and sanitize high traffic areas. In some cases, you may also notice that furniture in common areas has been moved to maintain the required physical distancing guidelines.

Deliveries will continue. BCHA and our residents will continue to receive deliveries that are essential for our residents’ and community safety. Therefore, delivery and care providers will still be accessing buildings.

Important Reminders:

Please do not flush paper towels, disinfecting/baby wipes, or any product other than toilet paper down your toilet. Even wipes labeled “flushable” will clog sewer lines. Flushing these products will result in additional burden on the sewer line and can cause back ups. Please dispose of all disinfecting/baby wipes and paper towels in the garbage.

Maintenance work orders

Maintenance is an Essential Business under the Colorado Stay at Home order. Please continue to call in work orders to 720-864-6400, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m.and 4:30 p.m. Utilize the emergency line (303-370-9299) after standard business hours.

We are prioritizing essential services for our residents, including essential maintenance, cleaning, and ensuring emergency systems are operational.

Please note that staff will take precautionary measures (practicing physical distancing, wearing gloves) during in-person interactions and will request that all people maintain a minimum six-foot distance from each other.

If you are immune-compromised or have experienced any symptoms and need Maintenance to visit your home, please move into an area where the work is not being completed and that has a door that can be closed for the duration of the work being completed. This will help avoid or limit unnecessary contact.

All BCHA staff will clean their hands thoroughly before and after coming to your home. Our staff are also receiving training on preventive measures and the use of protective gear.

We will be reassigning some staff to training, as well as cleaning and sanitizing. This means many work orders that are not high priority will likely be delayed until operations return to normal. We will continue to prioritize emergency work order repairs to properties.

The situation is evolving rapidly. BCHA will update this information as frequently as possible.

Please see the letter to residents about the transition to the Safer at Home phase of COVID-19 response:

More Public Health Information on COVID-19

Please note: Do not call 911 if you are seeking general medical advice or wish to be tested for COVID-19. If you have COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath), consider a telehealth visit or nurseline advice before seeking in-person care. Ask your primary care provider if they offer telehealth visits, or call one of Colorado’s nurselines. You can find a list of nurselines on the state health department’s website.

Visit the Clinica (303-650-4460) or Salud Family Health Centers (303-697-2583) web pages for information on health services for low-income and uninsured residents during this time.

You can also visit covid19.colorado.gov or call 303-389-1687 if you have general questions about COVID-19. Also see the Boulder County Public Health COVID-19 information and guidance page at www.boco.org/COVID-19.